MLB.com names Kemp, Kershaw top Dodgers

Reliever Jansen awarded Dodgers' Breakout Player of Year

By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

LOS ANGELES -- Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen have been named best Dodgers player, pitcher and breakout performer of 2011, respectively, as selected by MLB.com.

These awards only continued the postseason competition between Kemp and Kershaw -- the young stars that have become the faces of the franchise -- with the big announcements of MVP and Cy Young still to come. Relief pitcher Jansen, overshadowed most of the year by the emergence of rookie closer Javy Guerra, broke the Major League record for highest strikeout ratio per nine innings.

Kemp became the seventh player in Major League history to finish the season ranked in the top three in homers, batting average, RBIs and stolen bases in his league, joining Hall of Famers Ty Cobb (1907, 1909-11), Honus Wagner (1908), George Sisler (1920), Chuck Klein (1932), Willie Mays (1955) and Hank Aaron (1963).

In addition, he was the first Dodger to lead the NL in home runs and RBIs since Dolph Camilli in 1941, and the first Dodger in history to lead the NL in homers, RBIs and runs scored. He is one of five players all-time to eclipse 30 homers, 35 stolen bases, 100 RBIs and a .310 average, joining Ken Williams (1922), Barry Bonds (1992), Alex Rodriguez (1998) and Vladimir Guerrero (2002).

"I worked hard in the offseason to try to get better, to stay on the field every game and have the chance to be one of the best players," said Kemp. "If I'm on the field helping, we have a chance to win games. I just feel that the hard work paid off, but there's a long road ahead of us."

Kershaw, also a 2011 All-Star, won the National League's Triple Crown for pitching, leading the league with 21 wins (tied), a 2.28 ERA and 248 strikeouts. Sandy Koufax and Dazzy Vance are the only other Dodgers pitchers to win the Triple Crown. Kershaw also was among league leaders in opponents batting average, innings pitched, complete games, shutouts and WHIP.

His wins and ERA were the best for a Dodgers starting pitcher since Orel Hershiser in 1988, and his strikeout total was the best for a Dodger since Sandy Koufax in 1966. Kershaw went 13-1 in the second half, 12-1 at Dodger Stadium and finished the season with eight consecutive wins.

"It's been an awesome year," Kershaw said after his final start of 2011. "Unfortunately we didn't make the playoffs, and I don't like a lot of personal stuff. Now it's time to look back a little. I had a lot of fun and I hope next year's the same."

Jansen, 24, showed a glimpse of his ability in a late 2010 callup, only a year after being converted from catcher. Still technically a rookie in 2011, he shook off a sore shoulder and irregular heartbeat to post remarkable strikeout numbers. The right-hander punched out 96 in 53 2/3 innings for a 16.1 rate per nine innings, breaking the MLB record that Carlos Marmol set a year earlier.

Jansen had a 0.55 ERA and .094 opponents' batting average over his last 31 games. For the season, he allowed only one of 21 inherited runners to score.

"This has been awesome," Jansen said last month. "Growing up as a kid, you dream of just playing in the big leagues. And here you are, you're pitching in big league games, and the next thing you know you've got an all-time record? It's amazing."

The awards deluge started before the season even ended, when Kemp was voted by teammates as winner of the Roy Campanella Award, which goes to the Dodger that best exemplifies the spirit and leadership of the late Hall of Famer.

Since the season ended, Kemp has also received a Rawlings Gold Glove Award, a Silver Slugger, the Hank Aaron Award, the Baseball America Player of the Year, the NL Stan Musial Award and was named a finalist for the Players Choice outstanding player in the NL. Additionally, he was named to The Sporting News NL All-Star team.

Kershaw, meanwhile, won a Gold Glove, the Warren Spahn Award as the best left-handed pitcher in MLB, was a finalist for the Players Choice outstanding pitcher in the NL and was named to The Sporting News NL All-Star team. He was also a finalist for the Roberto Clemente Award.

Andre Ethier also picked up his first Gold Glove Award, giving the Dodgers three Gold Glove winners in the same season for the first time in franchise history.

Kemp and Kershaw are up for the crown jewels of postseason awards, Kemp contending for the NL MVP and Kershaw for the NL Cy Young. The last time the Dodgers swept those awards was 1988 with Kirk Gibson and Hershiser.

National Awards

Roberto Clemente Award

Relief Man of the Year

NLCS MVP

Steve Garvey

1981

Eric Gagne

2003-04

Dusty Baker

1977

Steve Garvey

1978

Burt Hooton

1981

Orel Hershiser

1988

All-Star Game MVP

World Series MVP

Cy Young

Maury Wills

1962 (Gm 1)

Johnny Podres

1955

Don Newcombe

1956

Steve Garvey

1974, '78

Larry Sherry

1959

Don Drysdale

1962

Don Sutton

1977

Sandy Koufax

1963, '65

Sandy Koufax

1963, '65-66

Mike Piazza

1996

Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, Steve Yeager

1981

Mike Marshall

1974

Orel Hershiser

1988

Fernando Valenzuela

1981

Orel Hershiser

1988

Eric Gagne

2003

MVP

Comeback Player of Year

ROY

Jake Daubert

1913

Phil Regan

1966

Jackie Robinson

1947

Dazzy Vance

1924

Al Downing

1971

Don Newcombe

1949

Dolph Camilli

1941

Jimmy Wynn

1974

Joe Black

Jackie Robinson

1949

Tommy John

1976

Jim Gilliam

1953

Roy Campanella

1951, '53, '55

Jerry Reuss

1980

Frank Howard

1960

Don Newcombe

1956

Pedro Guerrero

1987

Jim Lefebvre

1965

Maury Wills

1962

Tim Leary

1988

Ted Sizemore

1969

Sandy Koufax

1963

Orel Hershiser

1991

Rick Sutcliffe

1979

Steve Garvey

1974

Tim Wallach

1994

Steve Howe

1980

Kirk Gibson

1988

Nomar Garciaparra

2006

Fernando Valenzuela

1981

Steve Sax

1982

Eric Karros

1992

Mike Piazza

1993

Raul Mondesi

1994

Hideo Nomo

1995

Todd Hollandworth

1996

Silver Slugger

Rawlings Gold Glove

This Year in Baseball

Dusty Baker

1980-81

Gil Hodges, 1B

1957-59

Hong-Chih Kuo

2008

Fernando Valenzuela

1981, '83

Charlie Neal, 2B

1959

Juan Pierre

2009

Pedro Guerrero

1982

Wally Moon, OF

1960

Steve Sax

1986

John Roseboro, C

1961, '66

Kirk Gibson

1988

Maury Wills, SS

1961-62

Tim Leary

1988

Wes Parker, 1B

1967-72

Eddie Murray

1990

Willie Davis, OF

1971-73

Mike Piazza

1993-97

Steve Garvey, 1B

1974-77

Orel Hershiser

1993

Andy Messersmith, P

1974-75

Eric Karros

1995

Davey Lopes, 2B

1978

Adrian Beltre

2004

Dusty Baker, OF

1981

Jeff Kent

2005

Fernando Valenzuela, P

1986

Russell Martin

2007

Orel Hershiser, P

1988

Matt Kemp

2009

Raul Mondesi, OF

1995, '97

Andre Ethier

2009

Charles Johnson, C

1998

Cesar Izturis, SS

2004

Steve Finley, OF

2004

Greg Maddux, P

2006, '08

Russell Martin, C

2007

Matt Kemp, OF

2009

Orlando Hudson, 2B

2009

Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.